3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right [5] spirit within me.

July 26, 2006

Found this blog today and appreciated the sincere attempt to integrate his faith into his everyday world.

I disagree, though, with his demarcation between "affairs of unbelievers" and (I guess) the affairs of the believers.

All affairs are God's. The difference for me is how you approach the issue: From a Christian perspective or from a secular perspective. Christians ought to be engaged in every sphere of activities that unbelievers are (provided they aren't immoral activities) and they should approach them bearing a Christian worldview.

July 25, 2006

Because you're unlikely to hear much about it in the so-called "mainstream media," I thought I'd pass along some detailed information about the other side of the Hezbollah/Israel conflict.

The Israel Insider offers an article today regarding the recent rocket attack from the Hezbollah in which a teenage girl was killed.

Just after noon Tuesday, Haifa was hit by a massive salvo of 16-20 Katyusha rockets hitting 7 inhabited sites, some of which hit residential buildings and a bus. One rocket landed within 100 yards of Ramban hospital. Most casualties are light to moderate. Dozens of rockets also hit Nahariya and Acco and cities throughout the Galilee: more than 80 in all. Rockets hit the Arab town of Mrar, killing the 15-year-old girl and injuring three others, one seriously and one moderately, medics said.

Read the rest of the article to understand how Israel has been living. The major media has done its level best to make sure you never hear the end of each and every action by the Israeli army towards Hezbollah; make sure you're staying abreast of the reason Israel even began its retaliatory strikes--Islamic terrorism.

Right on cue, our man in the tank for any and all despotic regimes throughout the world, Koffi Annan, ever ready to blame the victim and pounce on any wrongdoing by those victimized by terrorism had this to say regarding the Israeli friendly fire incident that killed 4 UN "peace keepers" (via Ha'aretz.com):

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had earlier called for an inquiry into what he called Israel's "apparently deliberate targeting" of the UN observer force.

In response, the Israeli ambassador to Washington demanded Annan apologize.

One might just as well have concluded that the UN peace keepers were, in fact, colluding with Hezbollah to attack the IDF and that's why they were targeted. It has about as much foundation as Annan's unwarranted and inflammatory comment.

I'm sure I'll be roundly excoriated for it but I couldn't help noticing the incredible ingratitude that shows up when the following stories are juxtaposed:

From the Air Force Times, articles here, here, and here about how the Air Force is expending valuable man hours and resources (using my aircraft, the C-`7 Globemaster III) getting Americans out of Lebanon and to safety, compared to...

I'm so very tired of the Muslim community alternating blaming and demanding from the US taxpayers and elected leaders. It is evident that the US has gone WAY out of its way to spirit away people who voluntarily went to a country that has been well known for its political instability.

To have some of these individuals file SUIT against the United States government for failure to meet their demanding schedule of evacuation exceeds my ability at this time to be gracious.

July 23, 2006

Kudos to one of my favorite statesman, Benjamin Netanyahu, for staying on point and restating the truth of the situation in the Middle East. Since 1979, "Bibi" Netanyahu has held firm in his opposition to terrorism and has articulated the basic tenets of current anti-terrorism philosophy in the West.

In his Wall Street Journal article, Mr. Netanyahu restates the prime directive of current anti-terrorism efforts:

In order for the global terror network to be dismantled, its support by sovereign states must end--whether that supports comes in the form of actively perpetrating terror attacks (as in the case of Iran and the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority), providing safe havens for terror groups (as in the case of Syria) or not acting against terror groups within their borders (as is the case in Lebanon). A world in which the international community does not hold states accountable for the terrorism that emanates from within their borders is a world in which the war on terror cannot be won.

Netanyahu also draws an apt comparison between President Kennedy's "Cuban Missile Crisis" and the current situation between Israel and Hezbollah:

Some 44 years ago, when Soviet missiles in neighboring Cuba threatened American cities, John F. Kennedy set one goal and ultimately prevailed in achieving it: Remove the missiles. Today, when Israel's cities are pummeled by Hezbollah missiles launched from neighboring Lebanon, our goal should be the same: Remove the missiles. Or destroy them.

I was just over at Little Green Footballs where a particular post caught my eye regarding the UN's apparent complicity in barbarism of the worst kind in Beirut.

He has warnings all over the place on the site so I'll repeat them here (I haven't seen the photos myself): DON'T LOOK IF GRAPHIC IMAGES OF VIOLENCE DISTURB YOU.

My point in referencing this post is that I'm so sick to death of "talk" and "diplomacy" and the "international community" and this post gives the strongest possible evidence why. The plain fact is that the UN has long ago lost any usefulness it even pretended to have and is actively working as an agent against the interests of the United States and those who stand for democracy and freedom.

Additionally, it's time for the world to get serious and stop the nonsense that Islam has been "hijacked" by radicals. The frog is in the pot and boiling and all Westerners seem capable of doing is standing around, wringing their hands about "cultural" sensitivity.

The Christian response would seem to take two steps, neither of which is mutually exclusive to the other:

As a church, pray for the conversion of the countless millions of those within Islam.

As a nation, aggressively act to protect citizens through a strong and deliberate prosecution of war against all those who have declared war on us. Stop the mealy-mouthed pandering.

It is well past time to come to grips with the nature of what is being fought here--it's time for leaders ecclesiastic and civil to get a clue.

July 22, 2006

The CV-22 Osprey, a tiltrotor aircraft built by Bell Helicopter and Boeing, is moving through the necessary phases required to certify it as fully mission capable, ready for combat use by the US Air Force Special Operations Command.

Final delivery of the iarcraft to Special Operations is scheduled for 2009. Before that the aircraft has to go through a series of what amounts to acceptance tests and points of validation to ensure it's capabilities to make sure that it is up to the job. Says 71st Special Operations Squadron commander, Lt Col Jim Cardoso, "We're basically trying to help find out if the electronic warfare system does what the contractor says it will do...We're helping to find out if the CV-22 is operationally suitable to do the mission." The whole article is here.